David Taylor will add two more Happy Valley residents to his Oklahoma State coaching staff. OSU announced today that Thomas Gilman and Jimmy Kennedy will head to Stillwater to become Cowboy assistant coaches. 

Another Olympian joins the staff.

Welcome to Stillwater, Thomas Gilman!

📰: https://t.co/q0C9gKQ5re#GoPokes l @thomasgilmanusa pic.twitter.com/PEoQmICkac

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) May 9, 2024

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DT got his guy.

Welcome to Stillwater, Jimmy Kennedy!

📰: https://t.co/q0C9gKQ5re#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/CBtmNolSJg

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) May 9, 2024

This is a press conference scheduled for the afternoon of Thursday, May 9, where David Taylor will be formally introduced as the new head coach of the Cowboys.

Originally from Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thomas Gilman was a three-time NCAA All-American at Iowa before winning a bronze medal at 57kg at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Additionally, Gilman won a gold medal at the 2021 World Championships and two silvers at the 2017 and 2022 Worlds.

In the spring of 2020, Gilman moved from Iowa City, where he had been training since college, to State College, Pennsylvania, joining the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. He had been competing as recently as last April when he lost in the finals of the Olympic Team Trials. 

Jimmy Kennedy, the new Associate Head Coach, was also a three-time All-American at Illinois, his home state. After graduating in 2011 he immediately began competing in freestyle on the senior circuit, earning medals at several prestigious competitions and making the 2014 World Team.

Kennedy joined the coaching staff of the Northwestern Wildcats 2018 followed by a move to the Penn State staff in 2022, where he was set to start his third season in State College before David Taylor’s seismic hiring at Oklahoma State redirected his destiny to Stillwater. 

Efforts to reestablish a prison rodeo appear to be stalled.

Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Steven Harpe on Tuesday told a legislative panel his agency was no longer pursuing an $8.3 million appropriation this session to restart the prison rodeo at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

Instead, the agency wants the Legislature to authorize an interim study on the issue so certain questions can be answered, Harpe said.

The last rodeo was held in 2009, according to the agency.

In 2010, state budget cuts, low attendance and crumbling facilities contributed to the rodeo closing.

At least two measures moving through the legislative process supported recreating the rodeo.

Critics, however, expressed concerns about the safety of participants, the welfare of the animals and other pressing issues facing the agency, such as staffing and infrastructure needs.

Harpe said although he is confident the rodeo would generate revenue, the agency could not restart it without additional dollars.

“At this point, we are looking at pulling back and going to the interim session during the summer so that we can bring in people like the PBR (Professional Bull Riders), IFR (International Finals Rodeo), other concert promoters that want to use the facilities so we can show the Legislature the fully thought through plan on how we would generate the revenue,” Harpe said.

He said the issue could be brought back next session.

“We are fully committed to getting this done,” Harpe said.

Sen. Blake Stephens, R-Tahlequah, said he supported reestablishing the rodeo and was excited about the interim study.

“It’s going to be great for the state of Oklahoma,” he said.

Harpe said the rodeo will not just benefit McAlester, but will generate revenue for the state.

“Inmates want this,” Harpe said. “They want the ability to do this.”

Sen. George Young, D-Oklahoma City, said he hoped the interim study would include all the costs associated with operating it.

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence.

The Dallas Mavericks will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the Western Conference semi-finals Thursday night at Paycom Center. The Mavericks will be looking to even the series after losing Game 1. They’ll need to win a game in Oklahoma City to win the series, so it might as well be Game 2.

Dallas looked a little off as Game 1 went on Tuesday night. It was easy to tell the Thunder had been sitting around waiting for their next opponent, developing some rust. The Mavericks, meanwhile, showed some carry-over rhythm from their series against the Los Angeles Clippers. But eventually the Thunder found their footing and showed why they’re the number one seed. The Mavericks will have to play a solid 48 minutes in order to escape down I-35 with a victory Thursday night.

Here are three things to think about before the game:

Rebound, just a little, please

The Mavericks were out-rebounded by the Thunder 52-39, and 16-11 on the offensive glass. That led to a 25-15 OKC advantage on second-chance points. That just can’t happen against Oklahoma City. The Thunder finished the regular season 29th in defensive rebounding rate. They tightened things up after the all-star break, finishing 12th in that span. But the Mavericks are bigger and longer, and have more experience. They should be winning the rebounding battle, or at the very least, be even with the Thunder. Giving a team like Oklahoma City more possessions is dangerous, considering their shooting ability.

Doncic and Irving must be better

Your instinct might be to defend the Mavericks’ star backcourt duo. “They carry this team night after night, why can’t someone else step up when they have an off game?”

But that’s not how the Mavericks are built. Dallas can get away with offensively limited but defensively oriented role players like P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., and Dereck Lively II because Doncic and Irving can more than carry the load on offense. The Mavericks don’t need their role players to get buckets—the two superstars take care of that. But if they don’t, Dallas just doesn’t have another option to create offense. Doncic and Irving combining for less than forty points, like they did in Game 1, is just a recipe for disaster.

Make free throws, I’m begging you

The Mavericks went 17-of-25 from the charity stripe in Game 1, 68 percent. That didn’t matter for the final score, but this series won’t be a parade of blowouts. There will be close games. Dallas can’t take the risk of coming a free throw or two short against a team as talented as the Thunder. For whatever reason, free throw shooting has been an issue for the Mavericks for the last few years. They’ve got to get that figured out, before it costs them a close game at the absolute worst time.

How to watch

The game tips off 8:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN.